Meet Team Talent Acquisition

What does Talent Acquisition mean I hear you ask. We are so much more than JUST “recruitment”!

Talent Acquisition deals with the strategies, tactics, and processes for identifying, recruiting and retaining the people a company needs. It includes developing, implementing, and evaluating programs for sourcing, recruiting, hiring and orienting talent. 

We believe in right people in the right jobs. This is our talent team’s ethos. Hiring the right talent is instrumental to the success of our business. This is our bread and butter! 

At Checkatrade we recruit and onboard over 300+ new team members a year across the entire organisation. Last year saw us processing over 15,000 applications, engaging thousands of candidates and spearheading many Talent Acquisition related iniatiatives, including enhancing candidate experience, training hiring managers, bolstering our  employer brand and much more.  

So, without further ado, let’s meet the team behind the scenes...

Pia Williams  – Head of Talent Acquisition
"People are my ‘thing.’ Behaviours, attitudes, skills, and motivations – it all fascinates me. I’ve got 20 years’ experience in talent acquisition across agencies, inhouse and recruitment process outsourcing. I’ve spent the last 15 years leading high performing teams to deliver commercially minded recruitment services, that also delivers operational efficiencies. I currently have five direct reports that support different parts of Checkatrade. We are all about making sure we get the right people into right roles to support the business to grow while building our employer brand along the way.

The opportunity to have a positive impact on others is really appealing to me. I’ve had a lot of feedback both professionally and outside of work on how my approach to work and life in general has in some ways had a positive impact on the people around me. I am all about mindset and taking responsibility for your actions, whether it’s at work or at home. It’s that grit or shall I say ‘Sisu’ – a Finnish philosophy – that will see you persevering in the face of adversity and has seen me get to where I am today. 

On a personal level, I've got a 13-year-old son. We are both into an active lifestyle so between work, his football, my fitness regime, and life in general, every week is a whirlwind of activity! 

Favourite film: I can't choose just one favourite film, so here are some of the memorable ones I've enjoyed: an eclectic mix from Blood Diamond, to Gladiator and Lion King to Bourne Identity."

Sarah Early – Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner
"When I was young and was asked “What do you want to be when you grow up” my answer was not talent acquisition! It was either an air hostess or to work with children. Well, at college they cancelled the travel and tourism course and working with children all day gave me a headache!

I started out my career working for a fire fighter’s charity, and it was just a job to pay the bills. (At the time I had a very busy social life!) As part of that role, I got an insight into the world of HR and recruitment which sparked an interest. I then landed my first recruitment role hiring for the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Ford Motor Company and Aston Martin. Five years later I embarked on my talent acquisition journey. I was at Optamor for nearly nine years supporting on clients such as McLaren, Northrup Grummer, De La Rue and Checkatrade. Then in June 2022 I was part to the TUPE transfer over from Optamor to Checkatrade. All in all, I have working within recruitment for nearly 17 years and at Checkatrade I support the Regional and Finance teams.

This year is my 10th wedding anniversary and I have two young boys (aged eight and four). 

Favourite film: My favourite film is Forest Grump, shortly followed by Pulp Fiction." 

Aimie Hayward – Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner
"Hiya! Short and sweet from me. My experience consists of just over five years working in recruitment, internal and agency within sales, tech, operations and sales again... Prior to recruitment I was actively in sales roles for about eight years which included B2B and B2C – primarily cold calling. I sold in a range of industries such as SaaS, media, insurance and telecoms to name a few. At CAT I look after our inside and regional sales positions at all levels along with various other commercial positions so please reach out should you have interest.

Favourite film: My attention span doesn’t allow me to watch films! If I had to pick a genre it would deffo be horror but what does take all my attention at the mo is my new little pup Dave!"

Laura Sheehan – Talent Acquisition Business Partner
"My background originally started in sales, working within a well-known health and fitness club selling memberships. I was headhunted into recruitment and the rest is history! With six years’ experience, my career started in the world of architecture and interior design, however due to the impact of Covid on the industry, I shifted gears and started recruiting for engineering and data and product roles within a specialist tech agency. It was during that time I discovered my true passion. One of my clients in this role was Checkatrade, and after placing so many incredible candidates – I saw the light and decided to join internally! I now recruit for everything engineering and data, and I absolutely love it! Outside of work, you can find me with my pride and joy – Moses (he’s a long hair Chihuahua).

Favourite film: I’m more of a true crime documentary girl, but if I was to pick a favourite film it would be Clueless. I absolutely love all things 90s."

Rosy Hill – Talent Acquisition Advisor
"I’ve been working in recruitment for eight years now, having worked my way up from a junior recruitment consultant to a business partner in the defence industry. I then ventured into learning and development where I had the pleasure of training new and existing recruiters, as well as teaching and assessing the recruitment consultant Level 3 apprenticeship. I have done both agency and in-house recruitment in that time too, so I really feel like I understand the end-to-end recruitment lifecycle. At Checkatrade I support operational recruitment, currently looking after vetting, MA, retention, reviews, QA and income. I am absolutely loving working with the frontline teams and seeing how passionate, and customer obsessed they truly are! I am always in awe of how hard they work to create the best possible experience for our customers.

Favourite film: Film-wise, it’s Titanic for me! I grew up wanting to be Rose Dewitt Bukater (call it the Leo effect), but on reflection I am of course glad that I am Rose Hill, who is safe and dry in the Checkatrade office and not on a sinking ship."

Jess Martin - Talent Acquisition Assistant
"I have been in the recruitment industry for around seven years now, firstly starting off in an agency working my way up, to having recently moved to internal – and what a difference it has been (for the better of course!) I have predominately recruited for all things commercial, retail and operational positions but I'm now looking forward to expanding those areas within a much bigger company and supporting the TA team however I can! As cheesy as this sounds, I've always wanted to do something that helps others and when I finally found my call in recruitment I knew this was exactly what I was meant to do. Giving someone a call to offer a new job – you just can't beat it! I'm always trying to keep myself busy and looking to try new things whether that's at work or home with my five-year-old boy.

Favourite Film: Pitch Perfect - I'm that sad I know every line having watched it so much!"

For more behind the scenes content on our people, follow us on LinkedIn.